Athleticism rating and performance measuring system

ABSTRACT

A universal athleticism rating system and related athletic performance measuring systems for accurately detecting and recording athletic performance are disclosed. The athleticism rating system evaluates individual athletes against a common, standardized, set of athletic performance tests. Each athlete performs the athletic tests and his or her scores in the individual tests are entered into a standardized calculation to produce a single athletic performance score. The related performance measuring system is preferably a timing system that ensures quick, easy, and accurate collection of athletic event timing related data without the need for the athlete to wear any special detection devices or the like. In a preferred embodiment, the performance measuring system integrates with the rating system to provide seamless athletic data collection and rating of athletes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/269,161 filed on Nov. 7, 2005, which applicationclaims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No.60/625,482 filed on Nov. 5, 2004, and U.S. provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 60/688,518 filed on Jun. 7, 2005. This applicationis also related to copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/718,854filed on Mar. 5, 2010, which is a divisional of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/269,161. The disclosures of all of these applications arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for any and allpurposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to athleticism rating and relatedperformance measuring systems for use primarily with athletic activitiessuch as training and evaluating athletes and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Athletics are extremely important in our society. In addition tocompeting against each other on the field, athletes often compete witheach other off the field. For example, student athletes routinelycompete with each other for a spot on the team, or even if they arealready on the team, for more “game time” or a higher starting position.Graduating high school seniors are also in competition with otherstudent athletes for coveted college athletic scholarships and the like.Also, amateur athletes in some sports often compete with each other forjobs as professional athletes in that sport. The critical factor in allof these competitions is the athletic performance, or athleticism, ofthe particular athlete, and the ability of that athlete to demonstrateor document those abilities to others.

Speed, agility, reaction time, and power are some of the determiningcharacteristics influencing the athleticism of an athlete. Accordingly,athletes strive to improve their athletic performance in these areas,and coaches and recruiters tend to seek those athletes that have thebest set of these characteristics for the particular sport.

To date, this evaluation and comparison of athletes has been largelysubjective. Scouts tour the country viewing potential athletes forparticular teams, and many top athletes are recruited site unseen,simply by word of mouth: These methods for evaluating and recruitingathletes are usually hit or miss.

One method for evaluating and comparing athletes' athleticism involveshaving the athletes perform a common set of exercises and drills.Athletes that perform the exercises or drills more quickly and/or moreaccurately are usually considered to be better than those with slower orless accurate performance for the same exercise or drill. For example,“cone drills” are routinely used in training and evaluating athletes. Ina typical “cone drill” the athlete must follow a pre-determined coursebetween several marker cones and, in the process, execute a number ofrapid direction changes, and/or switch from forward to backward orlateral running.

Although widely used in a large number of institutions, high schools,colleges, training camps, and amateur and professional teams, suchtraining and testing drills usually rely on the subjective evaluation ofthe coach or trainer or on timing devices manually triggered by a humanoperator. Accordingly, they are subject to human perception and theerror inherent in it. These variances and errors in human perception canlead to the best athlete not being determined and rewarded.

Moreover, efforts to meaningfully compile and evaluate the timing andother information gathered from these exercises and drills have beenlimited. For example, while the fastest athlete from a group of athletesthrough a given drill may be determinable, these known systems do notallow that athlete to be meaningfully compared to athletes from all overthe world that may not have participated in the exact same drill on theexact same day.

Automated sensing and start/stop devices are used in some specificsports and competitions such as track and field and other track-basedraces, such as motorcycle, skiing, and horse races. These devices areusually expensive and complex, making them difficult to set-up,calibrate, and operate effectively. Accordingly, these devices areusually permanently installed at a particular facility. These facilitiesare often not regularly accessible to athletes for routine trainingpurposes. Moreover, the data compiled by these devices is often notmeaningfully compiled and accessible for athlete evaluation andcomparison purposes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, despite the available athlete training and evaluationmethods and the related known performance measuring systems, thereremains a need for a universal athleticism rating system and relatedathletic performance measuring systems for accurately detecting andrecording athletic performance. Among other benefits disclosed herein,the present invention fulfills these needs.

In a disclosed embodiment, an athleticism rating system evaluatesindividual athletes against a common, standardized, set of athleticperformance tests. In general, each athlete performs the athletic testsand his or her scores in the individual tests are entered into astandardized calculation to produce a single athletic performance score.This score is then compared to the athletic performance scores of otherswho also completed the tests, thereby providing an objective rating ofathletic performance between competing athletes.

The related performance measuring system is preferably a timing systemthat ensures quick, easy, and accurate collection of athletic eventtiming related data without the need for the athlete to wear any specialdetection devices or the like.

In another disclosed embodiment, the performance measuring systemintegrates with the rating system to provide seamless athletic datacollection and rating of athletes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplar base unit and sensorunit of an athleticism performance measuring system in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the preferred state of theprocessed sensor input for a cross start and a dwell start in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a top view of an exemplar athlete path relative to a sensorfield generated by the athleticism performance measuring system of FIG.1 showing a possible entry point (1) and exit point (2) through thesensor field.

FIG. 3B is an exemplar timing sequence in response to the sensor fielddetection at points (1) and (2) of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4A is a top view of an alternative possible athlete path relativeto a sensor field generated by a sensor unit of FIG. 1 showing possibleentry points (1) (3) (5) and exit points (2) (4) (6) of the athletethrough the sensor field.

FIG. 4B is an exemplar timing sequence in response to the sensor fileddetection at points (1) through (6) implementing a re-arm time inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A is a schematic view of a possible communication between a baseunit and a sensor unit in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention showing a possible data transmittal timing sequence.

FIG. 5B is a schematic view of an alternative possible communicationsystem between the base unit and sensor unit of FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6A is a top view of a possible orientation between a plurality ofsensor units relative to a base unit in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 6B is a schematic view of a base unit of FIG. 1 connected topossible peripherals such as an auxiliary display, printer and/or datastorage device in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7A is a top view of a possible orientation between a plurality ofsensor units relative to a base unit in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 7B is a top view of a possible orientation between a plurality ofsensor units relative to a base unit in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 8A is a schematic view of a possible user interface of the baseunit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8B is a continuation of the schematic View of FIG. 8A.

FIG. 9A is a top view a first preferred sensor unit in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9B is a front view of the sensor unit of FIG. 9A.

FIG. 9C is a left, side view of the sensor unit of FIG. 9A.

FIG. 10A is an isometric view of a second preferred sensor unit inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10B is a front view of the sensor unit of FIG. 10A.

FIG. 10C is a cross-sectional view of the sensor unit of FIG. 10A, takenalong line 10C-10C of FIG. 10B.

FIG. 10D is an enlarged, exploded view of the sensor unit of FIG. 10A.

FIG. 10E is a front view of a third preferred sensor unit in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11A is an isometric view of a first preferred base unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 11B is an enlarged, exploded view of the base unit of FIG. 11A.

FIG. 12A is a side view of an alternative preferred base unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 12B is a top view of the alternative preferred base unit of FIG.12A.

FIG. 12C is a bottom view of the alternative preferred base unit of FIG.12A.

FIG. 13A is a cross-sectional view of the second preferred sensor unitof FIG. 10A taken along line 13A-13A of FIG. 10B.

FIG. 13B is an enlarged, cross-sectional view of the second preferredsensor unit of FIG. 10A taken along line 13B-13B of FIG. 10B.

FIG. 13C is a side view of the second preferred sensor unit of FIG. 10Ashowing a possible preferred orientation of a sensor field generated bythe sensor unit relative to an athlete.

FIG. 14 is an isometric view of a third preferred sensor unit of FIG. 1in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an exploded, isometric view of a fourth preferred sensor unitof FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged, isometric view of the top portion of the fourthpreferred sensor unit of FIG. 15 showing possible movement of thesensor.

FIG. 17A is an isometric view of a first exemplar training drill usingthe athleticism performance measuring system of FIG. 1 showing use oftwo sensor units of FIG. 14 in communication with a base unit.

FIG. 17B is an isometric view of a second exemplar training drill usingthe athleticism performance measuring system of FIG. 1 showing use oftwo sensor units of FIG. 14 in communication with a base unit.

FIG. 18A is an isometric view of a third exemplar training drill usingthe athleticism performance measuring system of FIG. 1 showing use offour sensor units of FIG. 14 along a athlete path, each sensor unit incommunication with a base unit.

FIG. 18B is an isometric view of a fourth exemplar training drill usingthe athleticism performance measuring system of FIG. 1 showing use ofthree sensor units of FIG. 14 along a athlete path, each sensor unit incommunication with a base unit.

FIG. 19A is an isometric view of a fifth exemplar training drill usingthe athleticism performance measuring system of FIG. 1 showing use oftwo sensor units of FIG. 14 in communication with a base unit.

FIG. 19B is an isometric view of a sixth exemplar training drill usingthe athleticism performance measuring system of FIG. 1 showing use oftwo sensor units of FIG. 14 in communication with a base unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An athleticism rating system and related athletic performance measuringsystems 20 are described herein and disclosed in FIGS. 1-19B. Theathleticism rating system evaluates individual athletes against acommon, standardized, set of athletic performance tests. The relatedperformance measuring system 20 is preferably a timing system 20′ thatensures quick, easy, and accurate collection of athletic event timingrelated data. In one disclosed embodiment, the performance measuringsystem 20 integrates with the rating system to provide seamless athleticdata collection and rating of athletes. Each of these aspects of theinvention are discussed in greater detail below:

A. Athleticism Rating System

One aspect of the present invention is an athleticism rating system thatevaluates individual athletes against a common, standardized, set ofathletic performance tests. In general, each athlete performs theathletic tests and his or her scores in the individual tests are enteredinto a standardized calculation to produce a single athletic performancescore. This score is then compared to the athletic performance scores ofothers who also completed the tests, thereby providing an objectiverating of athletic performance between competing athletes.

In a preferred embodiment, these athletic performance tests cover arange of athletic skills that are weighted in a predetermined proportionso as to be rationally related to the skills needed for a particularsport. For example, in American Football, strength, speed, and agilityare all important. Accordingly, a desirable standardized athletic scoreshould include the results from athletic tests in all these areas.Suitable common athletic tests that evaluative these characteristicsinclude, but are not limited to, the 40-yard dash, the 20-yard shuttle,the vertical jump and the bench press. The details of performing each ofthese tests are well known in the art.

A primary benefit of this aspect of the invention is achieved bycombining these test results into a normalizing equation to form auniversal athleticism rating for an athlete. Exemplar desirablenormalizing equations for particular sports are provided in mathematicalequation format below:

Athletic Rating (Football)=(Vertical Jump in inches).times.(No. RepsBench Press at 185 pounds)((40 yd dash in seconds)+(20 yard shuttle inseconds)−2)  ##EQU00001##

Athletic Rating (Baseball)=(Vertical Jump in inches).times.(No. RepsBench Press at 185 pounds)(((30 yd dash in seconds)+(20 yard shuttle inseconds))−1)  ##EQU00001.2##

Alternatively, the normalizing equation can take the form of a table ofratings, and the rating for a particular athlete can be determined byusing the test results to look-up the athlete's rating in the table.

The athleticism rating offers several benefits. For example, it allowscoaches, trainers, athletes, fans, print media, on-air television,recruiters, sports teams, scouts, parents, schools, sports institutions,manufacturers, sponsors, medical/physical therapists, researchers andthe like to assess a player's athletic potential and performance againsta standard rating system. This score can be used as a factor to assistin determining which athletes will be awarded athletic scholarships,picked for a team, and/or awarded endorsement contracts. In addition,the athleticism rating can help determine whether an injured player hasreturned to an acceptable level of fitness to return to play. Moreover,individual player athleticism ratings can help coaches on game-day byassisting a coach with selecting the best players to start the game andthose with who are best suited for a particular task arising during agame.

The athleticism rating also serves as a motivational tool to theindividual athlete. For example, the athlete can focus training towardimproving their quantifiable athleticism rating thereby providingpositive feedback to the athlete as their score improves. Similarly, anathlete can use his or her score to compare themselves to others intheir athletic field, such as the athleticism rating of a celebrityprofessional athlete or the like.

The Athleticism Rating can be adapted to different sports such asFootball, Baseball, Soccer, Track & Field, and Basketball by adjustingthe test types and calculation used to derive the rating. Therefore aseries of Athleticism Rating such as Athleticism Football Rating,Athleticism Baseball Rating can be developed.

As a universal athleticism rating for a given sport is widely acceptedas a common standard, training can focus on an athlete striving toimprove his or her athleticism rating score. Accordingly, trainingprograms and related training products can be fine tuned to optimize anathlete's athleticism rating score. Such training products can includetraining plans, instructional videos such as DVD's, video games, andmagazine content all aimed at teaching and using a revised trainingmethodology to increase athleticism rating performance.

B. Performance Measuring Systems

Because the value of the above-described athleticism rating scorenecessarily depends on accurate athletic performance data collection, itis desirable to minimize human error in the data collection process.Accordingly, one or more sets of data used in the calculation of theathleticism rating are preferably collected by automatic means such asan automated performance measuring system 20. One such system ispreferably an automated digital timing measurement device 20′. Suchdevices preferably automatically measure and record the results from aparticular test and seamlessly integrate the collected data with therating system to allow automatic performance rating results to bedisplayed. Of course, such performance measuring systems 20, such asautomatic timing devices 20′, can also be used as stand alone devices tocollect and display athletic performance data of an athlete withoutnecessarily integrating with a particular rating system.

Exemplar performance measuring systems 20 are disclosed in FIGS. 1-19A.Preferably, the performance measuring system 20 is an automatic timingdevice 20′. More preferably, the automatic timing device 20′ isself-contained, lightweight, portable, and does not require the athleteto wear any special gear to allow the timing device to operateeffectively. Such a device 20′ is shown schematically in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1 and in general, the timing device 20′ preferably hasa base unit 22 and at least one portable sensor unit 24 thatcommunicates with the base unit 22 either wirelessly or through a wiredconnection. When the timing system 20′ is operating, the base unit 22 inthe system is in communication with the one or more sensor units 24 inthe system. The sensor units 24 then track timing and/or performanceinformation about the performance of an athlete in a particular trainingactivity. This information is communicated to the base unit 22 where itis processed to provide an assessment of an athlete's performance. Inthe simplest case, a sensor 30 in the sensor unit 24 is triggered whenan athlete passes by a sensor field 32 (FIGS. 3A, 4A, 7B, 13C, 16) ofthe sensor 30. This timing information is then processed by the baseunit 22 and used to measure the athlete's performance in the activity.As explained in greater detail later in this disclosure, severaltraining and testing scenarios are possible using this basic equipment,including the use of multiple sensor units 24 and/or processing ofintermediate triggers of the same sensor unit 24 such as with a shuttlerun drill and the like.

For purposes of clarity, the components shown in FIG. 1 are divided bylogical function. Of course, multiple functionalities may be handled bya single physical device. For example, the RF processing and processorelements may be grouped inside a single integrated circuit.

1. Detailed Discussion of Exemplar Base Unit Components

Referring to FIG. 1, the preferred components of an exemplar base unit 2are a processor 26, radio frequency components 28 (also referred to as“RF components” herein), a clock 34, a user interface 36, memory 38, anda power source 40 that are all operably secured together to perform thedescribed functions of the base unit.

The processor 26 organizes all the data communications, user interfaceoperations, system management, and system timing functions. Preferably,the processor 26 is a programmable microprocessor, although otherpossible implementations are also possible.

Preferably, RF components 28 handle the processing required to send andreceive information across the RF link to the sensor unit(s) 24.Depending on the specific RF hardware employed, some of the RFfunctionality may be handled by the processor 26. Of course, other formsof communication such as serial ports, USB, Bluetooth, WiFi, or anothertype of common communication transports could be used.

The system clock 34 serves at least two primary device functions. First,it provides an accurate time base for the system timing functions, andsecond, it provides an accurate time basis from which the RF components28 operate. It is possible that two different clock rates could beneeded in some applications. Preferably, in order to minimize the systemcode, a single clock source is used for both device functions. The clockinformation may also be used to control other system components such astiming for display drivers and the like.

Preferably, the base unit 22 includes a user interface 36 to allow auser to control and interact with the system. The user interface 36 isoperable by the user through device input controls, such as buttons 50(FIGS. 8A, 11A, and 12A-12C) and switches (not shown) and viewable tothe user through the output display 52 (FIGS. 8A, 11A, and 12A-12C). Theoutput display 52 is preferably segmented or a dot matrix LED or LCDdisplay. Other possible display devices could be used as well. Theoutput display is preferably used to show the performance data beingmeasured as well as provide feedback to the user to allow the settingsfor the device to be modified. Additionally, other display elements,such as labeled LED outputs, could be used to indicate information tothe user (i.e. the system is running, a sensor was triggered, etc.).

In an alternative base unit embodiment (not shown), the base unit haslittle or no user interface. Instead, the base unit is in a wired orwireless communication interface with a host system. Such communicationinterfaces could include serial ports, USB, Bluetooth, WiFi, or anothertype of common communication transports. This host system could takemany forms including a PC, a PDA, a cell phone, or a custom designedunit. The host unit would then control the base unit in order tointeract with the system. This method localizes the timing and sensorcommunications to a single unit and relieves the host system of thetiming requirement accuracy and proprietary wireless capability.

In order to function, the base unit 22 accesses different memorieswithin the system memory 38. These include code memories to storeprocessing instructions and data memories to contain operating data.Additionally, the base unit 22 preferably has additional memory fornon-volatile storage of data. This non-volatile storage data preferablyincludes setting information for the base unit and sensor units (RFparameters, sensor blanking times, etc.) as well as history informationabout measured performance, such as best times for specific drills andthe like.

These memories can be implemented using many different technologies thatwill vary based on the architecture of the processor device. Some of thedifferent memories may be physically part of the processor device.

Preferably, the base unit 22 includes an internal power source 40. Morepreferably, this power source 40 is an internally mounted and easilyreplaceable battery 40′ (FIG. 11B). Alternatively, power could besupplied though an auxiliary source such as an AC connected power supplyor the like. If the base unit 22 is connected to a host system, suchpower can also be provided by the host system.

If desired and referring to FIG. 6B, the base unit 22 can be operablyconnected to an auxiliary display 70, printer 72, and/or data storagedevice 74 to further facilitate use and dissemination of the collecteddata.

2. Detailed Discussion of Exemplar Sensor Unit Components

Referring to FIG. 1, the preferred components of an exemplar sensor unit24 are a sensor processor 76, a sensor 30, radio frequency components78, a clock input source 84, a user interface 86, memory 98, a powersource 80, and a sensor triggering detection system 100, which ispreferably integrated within the processor 76, that are all operablysecured together to perform the described functions of the sensor unit24.

The sensor processor 76 handles processing the sensor data,communicating with the base unit 22, and power management tasks for thesensor unit 24. Preferably the sensor processor 76 is a programmablemicrocontroller or microprocessor, but may be implemented with otherhardware as well.

A wide variety of possible sensors 30 could be used. These includevarious types of proximity detection and motion detection devices. Inone preferred embodiment, the sensor 30 is an optical proximitydetection device that provides an analog voltage level to indicate therange of the closest object in its field of view.

More preferably, this optical device is single-sided, which means thatno device (either a reflector or the optical emitter) is required on theopposite side of where the user will pass. The biggest benefit of thisapproach is that it allows great flexibility and robustness in theplacement of the sensor unit 24 as it eliminates issues related toinitial alignment and maintaining the alignment of these two components.A single-sided optical device that has been found to work particularlywell as a sensor 30 in a sensor unit 24 is manufactured and sold by theSharp Microelectronics of the Americas company based in Camas, Wash.,USA, as model number GP2Y0A02YK. This optical device provides an analogoutput voltage proportional to the distance an object is located infront of the sensor.

For the preferred described distance sensor 30, the data is preferablyprocessed using a simple threshold trigger. In other words, when anobject is detected in the sensor field 32 (FIGS. 3A, 4A, 7B, 13C, 16) ofthe sensor 30 as being within a predetermined distance from the sensor30, a timing algorithm is activated and/or stopped. Accordingly, anathlete can activate the timing features of the present system simply bypassing by the sensor unit without any need for the athlete to wear anyspecial reflective gear or the need to set-up any reflectors or the likeon-site.

Acceptable alternative sensors include ultrasonic range finders, CCD orCMOS image sensors (either linear or two dimensional), and the like.Another alternative is to sense motion or detect athlete contact with astructure, such as a mat surface or the like. For all of these differentsensors, there are many different methods the sensor data can beanalyzed. For example, an imaging sensor would require image-processingalgorithms to analyze the incoming data.

The RF components 78 of the sensor unit 24 enable it to communicate datawith the base unit 22. As with the base unit 22, some of the RFfunctionality requirements could be handled by the sensor processor 76.Similarly, if a different communication protocol were used in the baseunit 22, the sensor unit 24 could be similarly equipped with suitableengaging components of the different communication protocol.

The sensor unit 24 preferably has a clock input source 84. The clockinput source 84 is used for several functions in the device includingradio frequency interfacing as well as the timing for the sensor input.

Since the base unit 22 preferably handles the primary interaction withthe sensor unit(s) 24, the user interface for the sensor unit 24 ispreferably fairly minimal. Preferably, the sensor unit 24 has a simple apower switch 110 (FIGS. 10C and 10D) or button to turn the sensor uniton and off, and, if desired, a transducer (not shown), such as an LED orthe like, to indicate whether the sensor unit is on or off.Alternatively, the sensor unit 24 can include additional interactionfunctionality such as additional transducers to indicate additionalfeatures of the system such as whether the sensor unit is properlycommunicating with the base unit 22 and the like.

Preferably, the sensor unit 22 is powered using an internally mountedbattery 112 (FIGS. 10C and 10D). Alternatively, an AC connected supplycan be. used, but such a connection would limit the portability to thesensor unit 24 to only be used near a power outlet or the like.

In cases where distance sensors 30 are used, it is preferable to shieldthe sensor so as to prevent spurious light from auxiliary sources, suchas the sun or other reflections, from triggering the sensor. Regardlessof which sensor and method is used, the final result is a time thatindicates when the user enters or leaves the presence of a particularsensor field 32 (FIGS. 3A, 4A, 7B, 13C, 16) of the sensor 30. For somesensors, the sensing device may only be able to determine changesbetween active and inactive states of the sensor. In other words, wherethe user is detected, the sensor is in an active state, and when no useris detected the sensor is in an inactive state.

3. Sensor Unit Embodiments

Referring to FIGS. 9A-10E, 15 and 16, a variety of possible sensor unitsare disclosed. A first preferred sensor unit 24 a is disclosed in FIGS.9A-9C. A second preferred sensor unit 24 b is disclosed in FIGS.10A-10D, a third preferred sensor unit 24 c is disclosed in FIG. 10E,and a fourth preferred sensor unit 24 d is disclosed in FIGS. 15 and 16.

In order to avoid undue repetition, like elements between theseembodiments are like numbered. In general, the previously describedcomponents of the sensor unit are preferably assembled into a portableframe 130 that preferably rests on a substantially horizontal surfacesuch as the ground. Accordingly, the sensor 30 is preferably positionedabove the substantially horizontal surface 132 (FIG. 13C) by a defineddistance 134 (FIG. 13C). More preferably, the frame 130 includes aweighted base portion 136 and a tower portion 138 operably secured tothe base portion. Even more preferably, the tower portion 138 isdetachably secured to the base portion 136 to assist with portability ofthe sensor unit 24.

The frame 130 includes an easily accessible opening 140 (FIG. 10D) forreceiving and changing batteries 112 and a sensor opening 142 in whichthe sensor field 32 is directed therethrough. The sensor 30 is mountedand positioned within the tower portion 138 so as to be directed throughthe opening. Preferably, the sensor 30 is recessed within the opening soas to shield the sensor 30 from inadvertent light such as sunlight andthe like.

Referring to FIG. 13A, the tower portion 138 of this embodimentpreferably has a circular cross-section and the sensor 30 issubstantially centered within the circular cross section as shown.Accordingly, inadvertent light rays (shown as broken lines in FIG. 13A)end to be reflected around the sensor 30 without interfering with thesensor 30 itself Referring to FIGS. 13B & 13C, in cases where the sensorunit 24 is used to time running-related athletic events, particularsuccess has been had with the sensor 30 positioned as shown. The sensor30 is mounted about 14 to 18 inches about the ground and positionedwithin the frame 130 so as to deflect its sensor field 32 upward fromhorizontal by about 30 degrees plus or minus about 10 degrees. Morepreferably, the sensor 30 is mounted about 16 inches above the groundand positioned within the frame so as to deflect its signal upward fromhorizontal by about 30 degrees plus or minus about 5 degrees. This angleallows the sensor 30 to target the torso area 170 of the athlete 172 andthereby prevent inadvertent sensor triggers caused by the athlete's legspassing by the sensor.

Referring to FIG. 10E, a possible structure for adjusting the height ofthe sensor 30 relative to the base portion 136 is disclosed. The baseportion 136 includes a shaft 180 extending upward therefrom. The towerportion 138 is substantially hollow and slidably engages the shaft 180of the base portion 136 to allow the tower portion 138 to telescopeupward therefrom. A plurality of vertically aligned spaced apart holes182 extend along the side of the tower portion 138, and a retractablepeg 184 that is preferably biased to an extended position extends fromthe side of the shaft to operably engage one of the holes in the towerportion, thereby holding the tower portion 138 at a desired,user-selected, height.

Referring to FIGS. 15 and 16, a sensor unit 24 d having a sensor 30mounted thereto so as to be both vertically pivotable and horizontallypivotable is disclosed. The tower portion 138 preferably includes anopening 190 for pivotally receiving a sensor-mounting bracket 192thereto, thereby defining a vertical pivot axis 194. The sensor 30 isoperably received within a sensor mount 195, which is pivotally securedto the sensor-mounting bracket 194 as shown to define a substantiallyhorizontal pivot axis 138. It can be appreciated that the two pivotsaxes 194, 196 allow the sensor 30 to be aimed in any desirable positionas needed for a particular use.

Referring to FIG. 14, a sensor unit 24′ can also consist of a mat 200 incommunication with the base unit 22. The mat 200 can activate a timerbased on the detected position of an athlete thereon. One structure fordetecting whether an athlete is on the mat 200 includes a contact switchpositioned between the surface of the mat and an internal surface of themat. Accordingly, when pressure is applied to the mat, such as when itis being stood on by an athlete, the contact switch 202 is engagedthereby indicating the start or stop of a timing element in the baseunit 22 via a wireless 204 or wired connection thereto.

4. Base Unit Embodiments

Referring to FIGS. 11A to 12C exemplary base unit embodiments 22′ (FIGS.11A to 11C) and 22″ (FIGS. 12A-12C) having the previously described baseunit 22 components therein are disclosed. Preferably, these base units22′, 22″ are small, hand-held devices that include a screen 52 forreading data derived from the sensor units, and a plurality of inputbuttons 50 for initiating user commands.

Referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, the base unit 22 preferably includesinternal software for displaying a logical and easy to use userinterface that allows easy use of the system and easy retrieval of thedata collected by the system. For example, the user interface 36 caninclude a first menu 220 that allows the user to select frompre-selected athletic performance drills, view the best times previouslyrecorded for a particular drill, set-up a new drill, or simply have thebase unit serve as a stop watch. Preferably, the user interface includesnumerous pre-established drill profiles therein to facilitate use of thedevice.

More preferably, the drills making up one or more of the previouslydescribed athleticism rating system are preprogrammed into the baseunit, and the results from each drill for a given athlete are used todetermine, record and display the athleticism rating of one or moreathletes identified in the system.

5. Operation of the Sensor Unit(s) with the Base Unit

In general, each sensor unit 24 transmits its collected data within adefined range 260 (FIGS. 6A, 7A, and 7B). The base unit 22 is positionedwithin this defined range to allow the collected data transmitted by thesensor unit 24 to be received by the base unit 22.

It is important that the sensor unit(s) 24 trigger effectively, and thatthe communication between the sensor unit(s) 24 and the base unit 22 beeffective, clear, and accurate for optimal performance of the system.Accordingly, for optimal performance, the system is preferablyconfigured with the following performance optimization features:

a. Automatic/Programmable Sensor Calibration

Because of the variety in training locations, training drills, and otherfactors, timing sensors must be able to operate under a wide range ofconditions. For example, in the case were a distance sensor 30 is used,the sensor 30 may be located close to a stationary object (i.e. a wallor sign) that is in the detection range for the sensor. As a result,these devices need to be able to adjust their sensing propertiesdynamically.

This adjustment can be accomplished in many different ways. If desired,the sensor unit 24 could be configured to automatically run such acalibration when first activated. However, such a feature necessarilyincreases the complexity and processing requirements of each sensor unit24.

Additionally, someone moving the sensor unit's location and/or movingany objects that may be located within the sensor's field could impedethe sensor unit's automatic calibration. Accordingly, the base unit 22preferably controls sensor 30 calibration. The calibration is preferablyautomatic when a drill is selected in the base unit 22. Alternatively,such calibration can be manually selected by the user or dynamicallyestablished based on the detected sensor reading. Also, each sensor unit24 could have a predetermined selection of sensitivity settings such as“low,” “medium” and “high” ranges.

b. Time Synchronization Between Sensor Unit(s) and the Base Unit

In cases where the performance measuring system 20 is used as a timingdevice 20′, it is important that timing errors and differences betweenthe different units of the system be minimized. Synchronizing thedifferent units can be complicated by several factors in the system.However, if the devices function in such a manner that the timing delaysin the system are consistent, then the length of the actual timingdelays is not important. The reason for this is that all the timinginformation determined by the system, is calculated based on relativetiming data.

In FIGS. 5A and 5B, two timing synchronization cases are diagrammed.These indicate the general sequence involved to send a synchronizationmessage from the base unit 22 to one of the sensor units 24. In bothcases, like numbered events indicate like events or actions that istaken by the respective units 22, 24. The horizontal scale representsthe passage of time and is the same for both diagrams. The circularitems indicate events on the indicated units (either base unit 22 orsensor unit 24) and the rectangular boxes indicate actions that occur onthe indicated device. These are defined as follows:

Event Description 1 The base unit 22 records its current time value touse for synchronization 2 The base unit 22 prepares the message to betransmitted to the sensor unit 3 The base unit 22 transfers the messageon the communication link 4 The sensor unit 24 hardware receives themessage from the base unit 5 The sensor unit 24 processor responds tothe message that was received 6 The sensor unit 24 time is recorded 7The sensor unit 24 processes the synchronization message andsynchronizes the local time (from time 6) to the base unit time (basetime from time 1).

There is some delay below time 1 being measured on the base unit 22 andtime 6 being measured on the sensor unit 24. If this time is small(relative to the time accuracy requirement) it can be safely ignored inthe system. If this time is predictable, it can be accounted for in thetime synchronization. However, in a low power RF communication system,it may be the case that neither of these are true or that the delayvalue is difficult to compute accurately. The result is that the timevalues may not be synchronized accurately.

However, in the disclosed preferred system, if this synchronizationdelay is consistent between the base unit 22 and each of the differentsensor units 24, then knowing the amount of this time delay is notimportant. The reason is that all timing values are made on a relativetime basis. Since all the time values in the system are computed asdifferences in the time values and every sensor unit 24 will have aconsistent delay incorporated in the time value, this difference iscancelled out in the subtraction. Note that this is different a casewhere a single sensor 30 is responsible for maintaining the “master”time of the system (therefore not building in the time offset value) anddifferencing with other sensors in the system.

c. Accurate Time Reporting

Because of potential unreliable characteristics of RF communications,data that is transferred from one sensor unit 24 may not be consistentlyreceived by the base unit 22. As result, the communication protocol usedin the system provides support to handle extended periods of suchcommunication dropouts. To support this functionality, the followingsteps are taken.

i. When a sensor unit 24 reports the, time of a trigger event to thebase unit 22, the time of the event (synchronized to the base unitclock) is transmitted to the base unit 22. This eliminates anyrequirement to synchronize the RF communications with the timing oftrigger events;

ii. The sensor keeps a small history of trigger events that it hasdetected. The base unit 22 can then query for either the time of thelast trigger that was observed or the time of specific previous triggerevents. This provides support for situations where the communicationlink may be interrupted for a substantial length of time and thenrestored; and,

iii. A sensor unit 24 can apply a synchronization time offset fortrigger events that have already occurred. This provides support todetermine accurate timing information in cases where the timesynchronization was not established before a trigger event occurred.

d. Optimized RF Network Architectures

For an automated training timing system, there are several differentpossibilities as to how the communication network from the sensor units24 to the base unit 22 is designed. In some cases, the athlete will betraining with a coach present and only the coach requires the data. Inother situations, the athlete is training solo. Additionally, there maybe instances where both the athlete and the coach are interested in thecurrent timing information. Each of these presents unique considerationsto the network architecture.

Case 1—Coach Display Usage

When a coach is handling the base unit 22, this unit must be in the RFrange of all the sensor devices simultaneously. This results from thefact that the base unit will not, in general, be moving between thedifferent sensor devices in the system as it is operating. In order tohandle this situation, the RF range 262 for the base unit must reach allthe sensors for the system. Note that this does not mean that the sensorunits must be able to communicate with each other. This situation isshown in FIG. 7A (B=Base Unit, S1=Sensor Unit 1, S2=Sensor Unit 2). Inthis layout, the base unit is always able to communicate with each ofthe sensor nodes.

The setup of the training drills will vary widely and likely span afairly sizeable distance in some situations. To handle this variability,the system needs to support an RF range that is sufficiently large toreach all the sensors. As this range grows, the wireless components mustincrease their transmitted power levels. In order to operate at theseelevated levels, maintaining compliance with the regulatory RF emissionconstraints significantly increases the complexity of the operation ofthe RF subsystem. For operation in unlicensed frequency bands, thisinvolves the use of some form of spread spectrum technique such asfrequency hopping. Implementing this capability in the RF componentssignificantly increases the complexity of the system, but the power andflexibility of this system architecture can justify this extracomplexity.

Case 2—Athlete Display Usage

When an athlete is using the system alone, he or she will generally wantthe base unit attached to his or her body. Ideally, this could be in asuitable form factor such as a wrist mounted watch or the like. In thisconfiguration, the system can function the same way it does in the firstcase. However, the added complexity of the RF link and the increase inpower usage may be undesirable to support in this situation. Since thatathlete will be physically close to the sensor units when the sensormeasurements are made, the power of the RF transmissions could besignificantly reduced. This would both reduce the system powerrequirements and reduce the transmitted RF power levels to the statewhere a simpler RF implementation is possible. This situation is shownin FIG. 7B using the same element names and numbers as in the previousdiscussion of FIG. 7A.

The key to this system is that the base unit 24 is located physicallyclose to a sensor unit 24 when a sensor measurement is to being made.The sensor unit 24 still handles the measurement and this information isthen transferred to the base unit attached to the athlete. From anetwork perspective, the communications to handle this functionality canbe handled by any of several different methods.

Case 3—Coach and Athlete Display Usage

In order for both the athlete and the coach to track the timinginformation, there are several possible implementations. In oneimplementation, the same architecture as for case 1 to communicatebetween the coach unit and the sensor units could be used. The coachunit could then resend, possibly with a different protocol or with adifferent RF frequency band, the performance data to the athlete unitfor display. Likely the RF performance of the wearable device would onlysupport a simple protocol, operate with a short range, and need to benear the base unit in order to operate successfully. This situation isshown in FIG. 6A using the same element names and numbers as in theprevious discussion of FIG. 7A.

In this case, the base unit 22 is actually operating two RFcommunication links. The first link is used to communicate with thesensor units much the same way as described in case 1. This link wouldbe implemented for longer-range operation. The second link isimplemented to communicate with the athlete's unit. This communicationwould likely be much simpler and shorter range. When the systemoperates, the base unit interacts with the different sensors and handlesthe performance timing. Simultaneously, the base unit can operate thesecond RF link to communicate with the athlete's units. This allows theperformance results to be displayed on the athlete's unit withoutrequiring his or her to stop his or her training and check the baseunit. This additional RF link may be required if a specific athlete'sunit is employed which implements a specific RF link.

Another implementation may allow the athlete unit to monitor the RF asit is reported by the coach unit and interpret this informationdirectly. This method could work, but it would be more complex for theathlete unit to determine the meaning of the trigger times beingreported. Additionally, the athlete unit would need to employ the sameRF communication scheme as is used by the base and sensor units, whichmay not be optimal or possible.

e. Optimized Start/Stop Processing

In the past, athletic event timing is started when an audio or visualstart queue is provided. However, in a training situation, this isn'tthe best solution in many cases. Ideally the present system is set up tostart the training times when the sensor is triggered. In other words,the timing clock is only started after an athlete triggers a sensor.This allows the system to be very flexible in the way events are timed.Additionally it removes the requirement to have a separate startingtrigger that the athlete must use to get accurate timing information.The result is a more flexible system for a training environment.

For this discussion, we use the following terms:

Term Meaning Trigger The sensor state is changed between active andinactive. In some cases, we will know the actual state. In other case,we may only know that the state changed. Active The sensor is detectingthe presence of a user Inactive The sensor is not detecting the presenceof a user Enter The trigger where the sensor switches from Inactive toActive Exit The trigger where the sensor switches from Active toInactive Local Trigger Time value associated with a Trigger Time eventbased on the local time value. Synched Trigger Time value associatedwith a Trigger event Time adjusted to the time base of the base unit.

i. Enter/Exit Start Processing

Another unique issue of a training environment is the way that drillsare started. Since these activities are not currently being timed, themethods and techniques for them are widely varied. This presents anissue when automated timers are used for the drills. The biggest issueis related to handling of starting triggers.

There are two different cases that need to be handled in this situation.In the first case, the user starts behind the sensor and triggers thesensor after the athlete starts the drill when passing by it. However,in many cases, the starting procedure/positioning is different and theathlete is stationary in the sensor field for a period of time beforeleaving it. In order to address this issue, the sensor needs to executeadditional processing to determine the actual trigger time.

The preferred approach is to detect the amount of time the user “dwells”with the sensor in the active state at the start of the drill. If theuser is crossing the field of the starting sensor, then the sensor willonly be in the active state for a short period. In this case, the sensorshould report the time of the Enter trigger as an event time. If theuser stays in the sensor field before they start the drill, then thesensor is in the active state for a much longer period. In thissituation, the sensor should report the time of the Exit trigger as anevent time. To address this need, the sensor preferably has a dwell timethreshold. The amount of time the user spends in the sensor field canthen be used to determine which value is used.

FIG. 2 presents a diagram that indicates the preferred state of theprocessed sensor input for the two cases described above. The numberedpoints on the diagram indicate the time specific events that areprocessed by the sensor unit. Each event is discussed below for bothcases.

Case 1—“Cross” Start

Event 1—The sensor processor recognizes an enter trigger event for thestart. At this point, the type of starting sequence being executed hasnot been determined. Therefore, the current time value is stored in thedevice, but the device does not report a trigger when it communicateswith the base unit.

Event 2—The sensor processor recognizes an exit event occurred. In thiscase, the duration of time the sensor was in the active state is lessthan the value for a dwell time. Therefore, the sensor reports to thebase unit that a trigger has occurred and reports the trigger event timeas the time stored from event 1 (the enter event).

Case 2—“Dwell” Start

Event 3—The sensor processor recognizes an enter trigger event for thestart. Again, the type of starting sequence has not been determined sothis time value is stored and no event trigger is reported.

Event 4—At this point, the sensor processor determines that the dwelltime for this starting event has been exceeded. This indicates that thestart is a dwell start sequence and that the exit trigger event timeshould be used for this triggering.

Event 5—The sensor processor now sees an exit trigger event occur. Atthis point, the current time is recorded as the trigger event time andreported to the base unit.

Since the athlete will only be stationary during the start of a specifictraining test, this processing is usually limited to the timing ofstarting events. Other trigger events during a timing sequence arepreferably triggered on the entering trigger time.

The dwell time can be adjustable. The adjustment can be exposed to andmade from the base unit or, if applicable, a host system attached to thebase unit). Also, if the base unit supports different drill types in theuser interface, each type may have an associated dwell time for thestarting procedure.

ii. Multiple Event Triggering

Referring to FIGS. 4A & 4B, another timing consideration for trainingapplications involves to multiple event triggering of the same sensor.In most cases, as the athlete passes a sensor, the sensor will go in andout of the active state a single time. However, there are somesituations where the athlete may pass a sensor and the sensor istriggered in and out of the active state multiple times. This may be aresult of the nature of the sensor operation or it may be a result ofthe design of the specific drill. In these cases, the sensor processormust be able to process the multiple trigger events of the sensor andrecognize the false event triggers that should not be reported to thebase unit.

This issue arises infrequently for typical timing equipment. Suchequipment is typically configured only for detecting a single pass by anathlete. However, such typical equipment is useless in a trainingenvironment, where timing devices will be called on in some trainingdrills and the like to detect and trigger several times during onetraining drill. Accordingly, the present invention preferably includesthe capability to perform additional processing to accommodate for thispotential use.

Preferably, this additional processing includes using a “re-arm” timefor the sensor. After a sensor has been triggered by an enter event, thesensor is required to return to the inactive state continuously for someminimum period of time before the next enter trigger event is detected.This period is large enough to prevent the multiple triggers from asingle interaction. However, the value is limited by the fact that thesame sensor may be triggered multiple times in the same training drill.FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4A and 4B illustrate the way that this value is used.

In FIGS. 3A & 3B, a simple sensor-crossing situation is displayed. Theathlete passes by the sensor a single time. In this case, the sensorenters the active state at time 1 and returns to the inactive state attime 2. This situation is very straightforward and similar to theoperation of a typical timing system.

In FIGS. 4A and 4B, the situation is slightly more complicated. In thiscase, the athlete is rounding a cone for a training drill and actuallycan enter and leave the range of the sensor three different times. Attime 1, the sensor is triggered to the active state for the first time.Then, at time 2, the sensor returns to the inactive state. At time 3,the sensor status returns to the active state. The sensor has observedup to 3 different potential trigger events for what is effectively asingle crossing stage in the drill. In order to make the sensor ignorethe extraneous trigger events, the device requires the sensor to be inthe inactive state for a minimum amount of time before it will detectthe next trigger.

In FIG. 4B, the duration of the rearming time is shown between time 6and time 7. As shown, the time duration between time 2 and 3 as well astime 4 and 5 does not exceed the rearming time value. In these cases,the sensor would then ignore the trigger events at time 3 and 5 as beingvalid trigger events. At time 7, the device would recognize that therearm time has expired and will then accept the next enter trigger as atrigger.

The rearming time value can have a default value. Additionally, thisvalue can be modified by the base unit. Also, the value for the rearmingtime may be dependent on the drill selected on the base unit.

It is important to note this processing does not affect the triggeringfor the simple pass by case of FIGS. 3A & 3B.

6. Exemplar Drills Using the Performance Measuring System

Exemplar athletic training drills using performance measuring systems ofthe present invention are shown in FIGS. 17A to 19B. In FIGS. 17A & 17B,sensor units 24 are placed at the beginning and end of a latter-typedrill 290. Each sensor unit 24 is in communication with the base unit22. When an athlete passes the first sensor unit 24 i, a timer isinitiated. When the athlete passes the second sensor unit 24, the timeris automatically stopped and the time for the athlete to complete thedrill is recorded and displayed by the base unit 22.

FIGS. 19A and 19B show a similar drill with hurdles 292 using sensorunits at the beginning and end of the course to start and stop the timeron the base unit.

FIGS. 18A and 18B show that one or more sensor units 24 can be placedalong the path of a particular drill, thereby allowing split times alongthe path to be automatically detected by the base unit 22.

It can be appreciated that in cases where a plurality of sensor units 24are used with a common base unit 22, any combination of the disclosedsensor units (24 a-d, 24′) could be used. For example, a drill could beset up that uses both a mat sensor unit 24′ and a tower sensor unit 24a-d.

7. Alternative Uses/Extensions

Having described and illustrated the principles of our invention withreference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be apparent thatthe invention can be modified in arrangement and detail withoutdeparting from such principles. For example, while a large portion ofthis disclosure discusses the performance measuring system 20 as being atiming-related system 20′, it need not be limited to timing systems. Itis possible to use the distributed architecture to measure and evaluateother performance metrics. For instance, the sensor 30 may provide datarelated to the contact force of an athlete's step. Another sensor wouldprovide data about the height of an athlete's vertical jumping ability.In each case, the important element is that the base unit and reportingcapability are separate from the sensor units 24 that are used. Thisarchitecture supports a great deal of flexibility. Similarly, the samebase unit could be made to work with several different sensors.Moreover, as sensor technology evolves, any improved sensors could beincorporated into the design as needed and/or retrofit into existingproducts without forcing a consumer to buy an entirely new system.

Accordingly, in view of the many possible embodiments to which theprinciples may be put, it should be recognized that the detailedembodiments are illustrative only and should not be taken as limitingthe scope of our invention. Accordingly, we claim as our invention allsuch modifications as may come within the scope and spirit of thefollowing claims and equivalents thereto.

1. One or more computer storage media having computer-executableinstructions embodied thereon, that when executed by a computing systemhaving a processor and memory, cause the computing system to perform anathleticism rating method for evaluating the athleticism of an athletein a particular sport, said method comprising: receiving an agilityresult for the athlete, the agility result based on the performance ofan athlete in an agility performance drill rationally related to a firstdesired athletic performance characteristic in the particular sport;receiving a strength result for the athlete, the strength result basedon the performance of the athlete in a strength performance drillrationally related to a second desired athletic performancecharacteristic in the particular sport; receiving a speed result for theathlete, the speed result based on the performance of the athlete in aspeed performance drill rationally related to a third desired athleticperformance characteristic in the particular sport; and within thecomputing system, applying the agility result, the strength result, andthe speed result to a normalizing equation adapted for the particularsport to calculate, with the computing system, a single athleticismscore representing a rating that is specific to the particular sport forthe athlete.
 2. The media of claim 1, wherein the method furthercomprises comparing the athleticism score of the athlete with the scoresof other athletes.
 3. The media of claim 1, wherein the speedperformance drill is selected from the group consisting of the 30yard-dash and the 40-yard dash.
 4. The media of claim 3, wherein saidthe strength performance drill is a bench press.
 5. The media of claim1, wherein at least one of the speed result and the agility result aredetermined with an automated performance measuring system.
 6. The mediaof claim 5, wherein the automated performance measuring system alsocalculates the rating of the athlete.
 7. The media of claim 6, whereinthe automated performance measuring system has a sensor unit incommunication with a base unit, the sensor unit performing the followingsteps: automatically measuring the athletic performance of the athletein at least one of the speed performance drill and the agilityperformance drill to determine at least one of the speed result and theagility result; and transmitting the at least one of the speed resultand the agility result to the base unit.
 8. The media of claim 7,wherein the sensor unit is portable.
 9. The media of claim 8, whereinthe sensor unit is in wireless communication with the base unit.
 10. Themedia of claim 6, wherein the automated performance measuring system isa timing device, the timing device has a sensor emitting a sensor fieldfor detecting when an athlete has passed through the sensor field andoperating a timer based on the detected presence of the athlete in thesensor field.
 11. The media of claim 1, wherein the normalizing equationis a mathematical equation.
 12. The media of claim 1, wherein theparticular sport is football.
 13. One or more computer storage mediahaving computer-executable instructions embodied thereon, that whenexecuted by a computing system having a processor and memory, cause thecomputing system to perform an athleticism rating method for evaluatingthe athleticism of an athlete in a first sport from a plurality ofsports, said method comprising: receiving an agility result for theathlete based on the athlete's performance in an agility performancedrill, the agility performance drill being rationally related to adesired athletic performance characteristic in the first sport;receiving a strength result for the athlete based on the athlete'sperformance in a strength performance drill, the strength performancedrill being rationally related to a desired athletic performancecharacteristic in the first sport; receiving a speed result for theathlete based on the athlete's performance in a speed performance drill,the speed performance drill being rationally related to a desiredathletic performance characteristic in the first sport; and within thecomputing system, applying the agility result, the strength result, andthe speed result to a normalizing equation adapted for the first sportto determine the single athleticism score for the athlete in the firstsport.
 14. The media of claim 13, the method further comprises comparingthe athleticism score of the athlete with the scores of other athletes.15. The media of claim 13, wherein the normalizing equation is amathematical equation.
 16. The media of claim 13, wherein the firstsport is football.
 17. The media of claim 13, wherein at least one ofthe speed result and the agility result are determined with an automatedperformance measuring system.
 18. The media of claim 17, wherein theautomated performance measuring system also calculates the singleathleticism score of the athlete.
 19. One or more computer storage mediahaving computer-executable instructions embodied thereon, that whenexecuted by a computing system having a processor and memory, cause thecomputing system to perform an athleticism rating method for evaluatingthe athleticism of an athlete in football, said method comprising:receiving: 1) an agility result for an athlete based on the athlete'sperformance in an agility performance drill rationally related tofootball, 2) a strength result for an athlete based on the athlete'sperformance in a strength performance drill rationally related tofootball, and 3) a speed result for an athlete based on the athlete'sperformance in a speed drill rationally related to football; andapplying a normalizing equation adapted for football, wherein thenormalizing equation uses the agility result, the strength result, andthe speed result to calculate a single football athleticism scorerepresenting a football-specific athleticism rating.
 20. The media ofclaim 19, wherein the normalizing equation is a mathematical equation.